Abstract: The presence of the black element in fairy tales and fairy-tale films has always been a challenging issue, sparkling debates on whether these narratives create a utopia of brightness and dreams or a dystopia of darkness and strangeness. Addressing this question necessitates revisiting the definition and history of fairy tales, uncovering the deep-rooted fixation on the binary opposition between adults and children. While Gilles Deleuze's concept of “becoming-child” offers a profound response, it tends to lean towards affirmative becoming, overlooking negative traumatic experiences and favoring abstract speculation over detailed living conditions analysis. This paper shifts the focus to negative aspects through the examination of fairy-tale films by Dani Cavallaro and Sue Short, particularly exploring the key concepts of rite of passage and initiation they introduce.

Key words: fairy tale, fairy-tale films, becoming-child, rites of passage, initiation, negativity